Evo Lighter Shock Springs? Is There Such A Thing

[manxmann3]

Hi

Are there any lighter than standard shock springs?

Only got 3psi in rear tyre and can hardly get rear wheel to grip on wet rocks or grass

I don't think it's down to too bad technique, my 15stone mate on a beta evo was getting grip everywhere last night

I weigh about 65kg

Thanks

[2stroke4stroke]

You would imagine that the 125 might be more lightly sprung, given that much of its target market must be about your weight, but I have never seen this mentioned in any of the specs or announcements about models.

[manxmann3]

Yes riders moving up from 80s to 125s should be on lighter sprung bikes

Who would know? Lampkins?

Thanks

[aircooled4ever]

Hi Manx man,

What colour is the spring on your bike?

I'm wondering if you didn't buy the bike new whether it has a heavier weight spring fitted as most fat gits like me keeping bottoming the bike out so have to go heavier rather than lighter!!!

If you look at the sxs springs (from memory??!!)

I think standard is black, semi progressive is white and yellow is heavy though this many vary with other manufacturers.

[manxmann3]

Hi aircooled4ever

It's got a black spring fitted

[dan williams]

Is your preload backed all the way off on both ends? Are you using a low pressure tire gauge. Got Michelin? Is your damping backed off? Does your buddie have a flywheel weight on his bike? Fast or slow throttle tube?

With the stock spring you shouldn't have any more difficulty finding traction than your buddy at your weight. Setup is more likely the issue as much of the weighting that sticks the wheel in slippery terrain comes from leg extension.

Are there specific things you are having problems with?

[manxmann3]

Dan, when you say rear preload, you mean rear sag? I did set it up to about 30% when I got the bike.

I've got Michelin tyres

Legs straight or bent for slippery climbs??

Thanks

[dan williams]

Always bent. I'll go into detail why later. You want to always be centered unless you are doing a dynamic move. Weight on the outside peg is pointless as you have to compensate by weighting the inside bar. Now you have a twisting torque through your torso that requires muscle tension and limits your ability to balance and correct wheel deflections as well as adding fatigue.

Most beginners make a common mistake. Coming from an enduro, MX or street background they are used to leaning with the bike. Instead of bending the outside knee and straightening the inside knee to compensate for the lean of the bike they straighten both legs and lean into a turn twisting their butt to the outside to compensate. That is why you almost always dab to the inside of a corner. The demo I give beginners is to stand on a slope perpandicular to the fall line. Most will fall into the natural stance with their uphill leg bent centered between their feet. I give them a push to show them how stable this is. I then ask them to straighten the uphill leg. The only way to compensate is to twist their torso causing the same butt counter weight they use on the bike. I can usually push them out of balance with one finger. You should bend your knees and absorb the motions of the bike with your legs while you stay stable above this moving platform.

There is one other reason for bending the legs to get low on up and down hills. By lowering your center of gravity you are decreasing the leverage of your mass over the bike. Guys who flip over on climbs are always the guys standing straight up. If you get down low you can get your weight back over the rear wheel and you can crawl up stuff you wouldn't think possible. The conventioal wisdom is to throw your weight over the bars. This unweights the rear wheel causing spin. Make that mistake on a rooty hill climb and it's instant 5. One other tip is learn to dab while keeping weight on the back wheel. Normal reaction is to stab at the ground and stand on the dabbing leg. That instantly unweights the back wheel leading to spinning and a loss of momentum.

Sag is not a good measure of set up on a trials bike. More important is how the bike reacts in the section and that depends on terrain and riding style. Softer and more compliant is always better as long as you're not bottoming out. Watch your tire pressure as new riders always overinflate and can't figure out why they can't get up stuff. Even the top guys will go down to 2.5-3 PSI in slippery stuff. Novice terrain is a lot easier on wheels so don't be afraid to drop pressure if you seem to get less traction than other riders.

I should probably get back to work now.

Second edit, I think I combined this with something I meant for another thread.

Edited August 17, 2016 by dan williams